Hawaii Expected to Have Ample Lift Despite Airline Shutdowns

- State also looking to underwrite flights to accommodate stranded passengers
-

HONOLULU, April 4, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaii tourism officials and a
leading aviation analyst believe that strong demand for Hawaii travel will
cause airlines to add service that will compensate for the recent shutdown of
Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines this week.
"Hawaii remains an extremely popular vacation destination with January and
February hotel occupancy averaging more than 80 percent statewide and
increases in arrivals over the same period a year ago," said John Monahan,
president and CEO of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), the
state's tourism marketing agency for North America. "We believe that airlines
will respond to this strong demand for Hawaii and that visitors and residents
will continue to enjoy convenient travel between the U.S. mainland and around
our state."
Scott Hamilton, a Washington state-based aviation industry expert with
Leeham Company LLC, said, "I don't see any threat to Hawaii's tourist market
from the mainland from the failures for ATA and Aloha Airlines. At most there
will be a short-term decline in seats from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii.
Hawaiian Airlines has already announced some new service and it wasn't too
long ago that Alaska Airlines entered Hawaii markets from the Mainland. I
believe you'll see some selected route additions such as these. The bigger
threat, if any, will be from fuel pricing."
Yesterday, Hawaiian Airlines announced that effective May 1, it will begin
daily Boeing 767 service to Oakland, a major market for Hawaii travel formerly
served by Aloha Airlines and ATA.
"The primary focus for the next few days will be to help stranded ATA
passengers find return flights to the U.S. mainland," said Monahan. "Many of
Hawaii's hotels are offering special rates to ticket holders who are forced to
extend their stays and the state is working closely with the airline community
to find ways to get people home."
Just today, the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state's tourism
agency, issued a request for proposal for airline services to accommodate
passengers who are unable to secure alternative flights following the
shutdown. HTA will help underwrite flights for the next few days due to the
unique conditions in this situation.
HVCB is keeping travelers informed of airline and hotel options on its
website at GoHawaii.com.
According to HVCB, most of the visitors stranded by the closure of Aloha
Airlines on March 31 have either returned to the U.S. mainland or have
bookings to do so. Travel between the islands is proceeding remarkably well
due to the addition of almost 10,000 seats by the remaining three major
interisland carriers.
Related Links:

Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau: www.gohawaii.com
Hawaii Tourism Authority: www.hawaiitourismauthority.org
Leeham Company LLC: www.leeham.net
Hawaiian Airlines: www.hawaiianair.com
Aloha Airlines: www.alohaair.com
ATA Airlines: www.ata.com

SOURCE Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau

Darlene Morikawa, Director, Public Relations|Communications of Hawaii Visitors
and Convention Bureau, +1-808-924-0259, dmorikawa@hvcb.org; or Scott Hamilton
of Leeham Company LLC, +1-425-392-1160, scott@leeham.com, or Nathan Kam, Vice
President of McNeil Wilson Communications, +1-808-539-3471
Nathan.Kam@MWC-Anthology.com, both for Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau